Pedalling for peace

Britainâ€™s Muslim community is not always fairly represented in the media, so weâ€™re delighted to highlight an excellent cycling endeavour called Ride4Peace, in which 25 riders pedal off from Glasgow this weekend to raise money for charity.

All members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association, they will ride 600 miles from the city to London, via the Borders, Newcastle, County Durham, Teesside, Harrogate, Bradford, Huddersfield, Sheffield, Manchester, Birmingham and Oxford.

Timing their departure one month before the Tour de France starts in Yorkshire, they will stop at 13 mosques and a war memorial, where they will pay their respects to the fallen from the First World War.

The aim is to raise Â£100,000 for the British Heart Foundation and the international relief charity Humanity First. They believe that they represent the many young Muslims who are making a positive contribution to British society.

None of those going all the way hails from Scotland, but they will be joined for the first 20 miles or so by Mian Abdul Wahab Mahmood, an IT professional aged 47, who has lived in Glasgow for three years.

Originally from Rabwah in the Punjab region of Pakistan, where he was a keen cyclist, he had not ridden for years until starting some last-minute training in the past week.
He said: â€œIâ€™ve been enjoying it so much I will definitely keep cycling. Iâ€™m even thinking of selling my car.â€

Abdul worships at the cityâ€™s Bait Ur Rahman mosque, where the ride will start. The mosque is used by members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, which has been established in the UK since 1913 and now numbers 40,000 people.

More information about the 600-mile cycling challenge can be found at: www.ride4peace.org.